Valdosta teen sentenced to life for murder
Mar. 29—VALDOSTA — A Valdosta teen was convicted of murder Wednesday and sentenced to life without parole, officials said.
Kendrick Mitchell, 18, was on trial in Lowndes County Superior Court for the 2021 death of his former girlfriend, age 17, according to a statement from the Southern District Attorney's office.
Police reports had earlier identified the victim as DaNedra Sessoms.
Mitchell also received a consecutive sentence for a firearms charge, according to the statement.
At 5:10 a.m., Nov. 20, 2021, someone called 911 to report a shooting at the intersection of West Gordon Street and Lankford Drive, police said.
Officers found Sessoms in the road with gunshot wounds. Police and bystanders tried to provide first aid until medics arrived but she was pronounced dead on the scene.
The district attorney's statement said Mitchell and Sessoms were together after they left a group of friends; then a dispute arose and they separated.
Mitchell was picked up by his mother and they rode around until they saw the victim driving Mitchell's car; he got out of his mother's car, walked over to the other vehicle and shot Sessoms several times, according to the DA's office.
He shot her again after she fell into the road, with his mother present, according to the district attorney's office.
Mitchell fled as his mother called for help and talked to first responders. He eventually turned himself in.
"Our office would like to thank the Valdosta Police Department for their tireless efforts as well as the jury for their service in this emotional case," said Assistant Southern District Attorney Zachary Register, who prosecuted the case. "There are senseless acts of violence and then there is this. What the defendant did on Nov. 20, 2021, showed a complete lack of value for human life. A young life was taken for absolutely nothing and the sentence imposed shows that we will not tolerate senseless acts of violence."
Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.
